Media assets

News agency: WAL

State Media Matrix Typology

State-Controlled (SC)

Ownership and governance

WAL was reconstituted in 2011 by a decision of the Executive Office of the Transitional National Council. Since then, according to local journalists and media experts consulted in March and May 2024, the agency has functioned under the de facto authority of the Government of National Accord (GNA), and later the GNU.

No legal documentation clarifying WAL’s ownership structure is available. According to journalists specializing in Libyan media interviewed for this report in May 2025, appointments to its leadership are made solely at the discretion of the ruling government, with no competitive or transparent selection process in place.

Source of funding and budget

There is no publicly accessible financial documentation concerning WAL’s budget or funding streams. However, consistent findings from Altai Consulting’s past media mapping and testimonies gathered by the Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC) suggest that the agency has been fully financed by state authorities—initially the GNA, and since March 2021, the GNU.

In Libya’s media landscape, where commercial advertising markets remain largely dysfunctional, most news outlets either rely on direct government support or international donor funding. WAL, as a state-owned institution, has not demonstrated any diversification of its financial base.

Editorial independence

Despite post-2011 reforms, WAL continues to operate as a governmental mouthpiece. Interviews conducted with journalists, independent media monitors, and Libyan experts, alongside informal content analysis carried out by MJRC in early 2024, confirm that the agency’s editorial output overwhelmingly reflects the messaging priorities of the sitting government. WAL’s reporting routinely lacks critical scrutiny of official policies and tends to align with the narratives favored by the GNU.

No domestic statute, regulatory safeguard, or external oversight mechanism has been identified that would guarantee or even gesture toward the agency’s editorial independence. WAL’s institutional mandate remains closely tethered to the political objectives of Libya’s executive authority, a legacy reinforced by its origins as a state propaganda tool during the Jamahiriya era.

July 2025

Media assets

Al Rasmiyah

State Media Matrix Typology: Not included due to lack of recent data

Ownership and governance

According to the latest data we gathered from our experts and journalists working in Libya whom we interviewed in March and May 2024, Al Rasmiyah is entirely operated by the GNA, which makes all human resources appointments in the broadcaster and decides about the staff’s pay. The channel used to be run by Libya Radio and Television Corporation (LRTC), the successor to the state broadcaster run by the Gaddafi regime. It was fully controlled by the Government of National Unity, but there is no information about Al Rasmiyah’s current status.

Source of funding and budget

Al Rasmiyah was known to be fully funded by the Government of National Accord (GNA), the sole internationally recognized government in Libya, for some years, according to local experts and journalists interviewed for this report in March and May 2024. In March 2021, GNA was merged with the Second Al-Thani Cabinet based in Tobruk, known as the Tobruk government, to form the Government of National Unity led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh. Yet, in March 2022, the country was again divided when the eastern-based parliament formed a Government of National Stability (GNS) led by Fathi Bashagha. There is no publicly available data about Al Rasmiyah’s budget. The station faced deep financial problems five years ago when short of funding, it was obliged to air only pre-recorded shows.

Editorial independence

According to the latest data we gathered from our experts and journalists working in Libya interviewed in March and May 2024, Al Rasmiyah operated as an official voice of the Government of National Unity.

July 2024